Home, Sweet Home
by tombombadillo
Summary: It's hard looking after two kids and three pugs when your millionaire writer husband is off doing his job. (8th in Puggy!Verse)


**A/N: THIS IS SO LONG I DON'T EVEN KNOW I MEAN 3K WAAH WHAT for Vallie because PUUUUUUUUUUUGS**

**Disclaimer: Marlowe didn't redecorate his room yesterday and didn't fall hopelessly in love with it because it is just the most perfect room ever to exist**_  
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Kate's got one pug clamouring for attention, another whining because she needs to go for a wee, her daughter wants a jar full of water for her painting, and she's pretty sure her son is doing something he shouldn't in his daddy's office. Her phone rings, and until she sees the caller ID she's half tempted to ignore it. She pushes Mocha – Latte – which ever pug it is away, she doesn't quite care at the minute and reaches for the phone, answers it with a huffed hello.

"You sound exhausted."

"Three pugs and two kids, what do you expect?"

"If it helps any I have a really cramped hand?"

"No, it really doesn't help. You bought that on yourself." She laughs, pushing open the laundry door so Macchiato – Mocha – God, they all look the same – can do whatever it is they want to do on the newspaper in the corner.

"What on earth do you think I was doing, Kate?"

"Nothing suitable for children's ears."

"Signing books. So kinky."

"Hmm. I do remember you being the man who signed woman's chests at book parties. What's not kinky about that?"

"I haven't signed a woman's chest in years. And you won't let me sign yours."

Kate laughed. "Yeah, I'm not an insane groupie. Besides, I don't need you to sign my chest."

He hummed, and she pushed whichever pug it was back out of the room, closing the door behind her. "I can always come home, I mean Paula will be in a huff with me for a while, but-"

"Castle, I have handled worse than a couple of kids and some dogs. When you're married to a bestselling author you expect him to be away every once in a while. Just today is busy. We're fine, honestly."

"I never said you weren't. I was just-"

"I know, Castle. It's okay. Thank you." She paused at the sink, reaching for a small plastic cup even as Latte stands on her foot and head butts her. Mary runs up behind her, hands landing on her back and the cup she'd filled with water falls out of her hand, and lands in the sink. "Mary, watch where you're going. Please."

"Is that daddy? Can I talk to daddy? Mommy, please?" Kate wrinkles her nose, wanting to keep her husband on the phone for a little while longer before Mary and James clamour for his attention, but hell, when has she ever been able to resist that soppy puppy dog look Mary has oh so handily inherited from her father.

"Let me keep your father for a few more minutes, alright. You can talk to him in a second. Here's your water, go and paint."

"But-"

"Mary. You can talk to Daddy when I have finished talking to him, or you cannot talk to him at all." Mary opened her mouth, and Kate recognised the stubborn furrow of her brow and the set of her jaw. Oh, she was her in miniature alright. "And if you're going to throw a fit you can go and sit in the naughty corner for eight minutes."

Mary held out her hand for the water, growled a thank you and headed back to the table. Kate bit her lip, tried not to laugh. Castle, on the other hand, was not hiding his amusement. "Shut up, Castle."

"She is just like I imagine you as a kid."

"Castle-"

"Just you but miniature. Oh come on, Kate. It's a little bit funny."

"No, it's not. If she grows up to be like me you're going to be one hell of a worried dad."

Castle groaned. "I don't suppose you'd be against me keeping her on house arrest until she's thirty?"

"You are not keeping our daughter locked up. She would drive us both mental, and we'd never get any alone time."

"Well, there is always just locking her in her room."

"I'm a cop, Castle. I'll arrest you for cruelty to children."

"Ooh, handcuffs. You promise?"

"I'm going to pass you over to your daughter now."

Mary's already pushing herself away from the table, the cup of water tipping precariously. "Daddy!"

"Alright, Mary. Take it easy. I'm going to go and see where your brother's got to."

"James? He's in Daddy's room. I think he's colouring in."

Kate handed the phone to Mary, pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead. "James!"

There's the sound of feet on wooden floors, followed by a crash that has both Kate and Mary wincing. She can hear Castle exclaiming on the other end of the phone. Kate shook her head, left Mary to talk to her father.

Mary really is the perfect mix of them both. She's stubborn and hot headed and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. Just like Kate. And just like Castle, she can talk for hours and go off on tangents and finds a strange childish glee in the strangest things. Granted, of course, they didn't expect anything else from a seven year old, but having a strange fascination with the paranormal is definitely his genes. It's getting to the point where he's having to lock all of his horror movies away where she can't get her greedy hands on them. Right now, even as he's lying on his bed with his feet up and his leather jacket hung up, she's talking about Ghostbusters and proton packs and this pretend ectoplasm which she's going to take to school and scare everyone.

"And Daddy, Caleb says he saw a ghost yesterday. A real _ghost_." He can imagine her, hopping about on her bare feet, eyes bright and dancing.

"Oh, really? What kind of ghost was it?"

"Abraham Lincoln."

"Really?" Castle replies, biting down on a laugh. "What did Abraham Lincoln do?"

"He went boo! Really loudly."

"And was Caleb scared?"

"Caleb's not scared of _anything_."

"Huh. Sounds like you quite like this Caleb."

"Ew, Daddy! No I don't. He's a _boy_."

"I'm a boy! Does that mean you don't like me?"

Mary laughed. "No, don't be silly. You're my Daddy. I love you."

"Aw, I love you too munchkin. Now, what is it your brother has got up to in my office?"

It turns out that James has pulled off an entire shelf of books, opened them on any random page and then scribbled over the pages with whatever crayons he can find. It's not the first time he's been this destructive, and it's not the first time he's been sent to the naughty corner kicking and screaming. Mocha knows the rules, slinks out of the office, which really only makes James cry harder. Kate leans against the door, one eye on James who is staring at her so hard she expects to burst into flames any second, and the other on Mary who is babbling excitedly into the phone. Latte and Macchiato have both retired to the sofa, Latte resting her head on Macchiato back. Well, at least that's one hindrance out of the way. Maybe she could persuade Mary and James to come for a walk before tea. Maybe if they had ice cream afterwards. And that would wear them and the dogs out. Perfect idea.

Mary is running over to her, phone in hand, lands against Kate with an oof. "Can I give James the phone?"

"No. Not yet. You carry on with your drawing."

Mary presses the phone back to her ear. "You can't talk to James right now, so you can have Mommy again. Bye, Daddy!"

Kate watches her leave, casts her eye back to James who decided that he'd had enough of sitting in the corner and was already half standing up. He sinks back down when she raises an eyebrow at him, folds his arms and sticks his bottom lip out. Like father, like son.

"You might need to replace some books."

"We have one kid who's going to be a ghost hunter, and another who's going to be a artist. I'd say we did quite well."

Kate scoffed. "I think we have differing opinions on that one Castle."

"Don't tell me it's not your life dream to have a daughter who hunts ghosts for a living? You hunt the living, she hunts the dead. At least laugh a little."

"I'm not laughing, Castle. It's not funny. Besides, when she's older she'll want to do something a bit more… socially acceptable."

"What's not socially acceptable about a ghost hunter?"

"I'm not going to answer that." She sighed, leaning against the door frame heavily. "I miss you."

"One more week. And I bet as soon as I'm back you'll wish I was gone again."

"Hm, maybe."

"Are you sure you don't want me to cut it short? Paula will understand, honestly."

Kate's tempted. She is, and ignoring whatever it is he says, she does miss him. And she knows that all she has to do is ask and he'd be on the next plane home.

"You cut the last one short. You couldn't possibly do it again."

Castle laughed. "Right, because Mary having Tonsillitis wasn't any cause for concern."

"Neither is this. Not really. I'm just… tired. I need a good night's sleep."

"You sound exhausted, Kate. Not just tired. And both Mary and James are more than able to give you a run for your money, and looking after three pugs isn't easy, and you're an excellent mom, you know that. But-"

"Castle, please stop tempting me."

"Sorry. Is James available now?"

"I suppose so." She jerked her head at James, who was up and out of the chair faster than Castle is off the sofa and following her whenever she takes her top off on the way to the bathroom. He skids slightly on the floor and Kate catches him with an arm, squeezing her against him when he lands against her. He looks up at her, all solemn and _so _like his father. "I'm sorry, Mommy."

"Are you going to say sorry to Daddy too?" He nodded, his chin digging into her stomach. "And are you going to draw all over his books again?"

James shook his head, looking thoroughly innocent and angelic. Kate knew he'd do something equally atrocious again soon, but didn't really want to bring him out on it right at this very minute. Maybe Castle can talk to him about it. Lord knows he has a way with Beckett women. She hands the phone over and James runs away with it towards Mocha. She lets him go, makes her way over to Mary who has abandoned her painting and is lying on her front, Macchiato lying on her back, Latte pressing her nose against the girl's temple.

Kate lifts Latte away, sits next to her daughter and puts Latte on her knee where it doesn't take long for her to settle back down again.

"You alright, Mary?"

It takes a moment for the girl to answer, and she picks at a spot of dirt on the cushion before answering. "Why does Daddy have to be away so much?"

"It's part of his job, you know that. And he's here most of the time. It's just a few weeks of the year where he has to be gone. He'll be back soon."

"But I miss him."

"We all do. But he's just on the other end of the phone if you want to talk to him. And next time, he's going to arrange it so we're all on holiday and we get to go with him." She stoked a finger down the girls nose, smiling as Mary's face scrunched up. "It'd be a really long holiday. And while Daddy's busy, you, me and James, we can all go sightseeing. That'd be fun, right?"

"Where would we go?"

"Oh, loads of places. We could go to Europe. England, and France and Germany and Spain… or we could go to Australia. Or maybe we'd just stay in America. We could road trip, you know."

"But what about Latte, and Mocha and Macchiato? Where would they go?"

"Oh, they could come with us. Or, I'm sure Alexis and Jenson wouldn't mind looking after them. I think Cappuccino would like having them around, don't you?"

"Does Cappuccino miss them?"

"Would you miss James if he lived somewhere else?"

Mary grinned. "No."

Kate laughed, nudged Mary's head with her fist. "Yeah, you would. Don't lie."

"No, I wouldn't. He's my brother and he smells." Mary looked so certain of herself, which such a determined nod of her head.

"It's a good job that you're both having baths tonight then."

They both look up, Latte and Macchiato startling slightly as James runs towards them, tears streaking down his face, screaming. "Mommy! Mommy!"

"James? What is it?"

He's already clambering up onto the sofa, pushes Latte away with a hand and sits down on her lap. Hard. She moves him into a more comfortable position, uses her sleeve to wipe at his tears. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"Daddy gone! I was talking and he gone!"

"Okay, okay. Just calm down a bit, alright? I'm sure it was an accident. He'll ring back in a minute." She pulls him against him, feels his bony little arms wrap half way around her rib cage.

Mary's sitting up now and leans against her side, burying her head into her shirt. Hmm, maybe she could get away with just ordering take away. Eat, bath, bed. The pugs will survive until tomorrow, and they'll settle down once everyone's gone to bed. She hopes. The phone rings again, and she presses the answer button, presses it against James ear.

His face lights up, and he takes the phone from her, sitting up. "Daddy! I thought you gone!"

Kate hears him laugh, wishes he was laughing next to her, back in New York. "No, I'm still here, kiddo."

"Where you go?"

"I didn't go anywhere, I think the phone cut out. But it's okay. I'm back."

"You scare me!"

"I scare me too. Now, what were you telling me?"

James cast a sideways look at Kate, judging whether or not to mention it in front of her. "I wasn't just… drawing in your books. I was writing you a message."

Kate hears Castle's hum of surprise, both of them knowing that James's writing skills leave little to be desired. "What was it?"

"You have to wait! It's a surprise!"

"Ohh, but I hate surprises!" Castle whines, and James grins. "Go on. Tell me."

"No."

"I'll tickle it out of you!"

"You can't! You're not here!"

"No, but your mother is. And she's an expert tickler."

Kate lets her fingers walk up James's ribcage and he wriggles, trying to get away, but she's already got one arm around him, even as she tickles him harder with her other. He laughs, and it's loud and clear and even Mary joins in, tickling Kate's side until they're a laughing heap of limbs and dog's on the sofa. Mocha is bouncing across from back to bum to neck to arm and up and down, yapping excitedly. Macchiato is doing the slightly more dignified route and is avoiding treading on anybody, and Latte, well, Latte has decided that enough is enough and has jumped down onto the floor where she sits and looks, tail wagging and tongue panting. Kate pulls Mary further up so she's lying next to her, her head resting on her shoulder, and James is already lying on her, fingers toying with the material on her shirt. She reaches for her phone again, uses her shoulder to keep it in place.

"Castle?"

"Yeah?" She can hear the amusement in his voice, but she knows there's the underlying sadness that he's there, and they're here, together.

"You're still there."

"Course I'm still there. Don't plan on going anywhere."

"Good. That's good. You talked to Alexis recently?"

"Phoning her whenever I get off the phone with you. She left me a message before, but it wasn't anything urgent. Something about wedding something or others. I expect she wants more money."

"Must be so hard having a millionaire for a father."

"Yeah, it's a hard life."

"Hmm. But I am going to go. It's nearly tea time and these two need a bath as well."

Castle laughed again. "Oh, if there's one thing that I do not miss it is bath night."

"And just for that, you're on bath duty for a month after you get back."

"Kaaaaaaate."

"Nope. You asked for it. We'll talk to you tomorrow."

"I might phone later. Wish you all goodnight."

"We'll look forward to it." She moves the phone towards Mary and James. "Say bye to Daddy."

"BYE DADDY!" they both scream, which just sets the dogs barking again.

"We'll see you soon, okay?"

"See you soon. Love you all."

"We love you too."

He rings again. It's late, James and Mary are both asleep, and Latte is making herself comfortable on Castle's side of the bed, eyes drooping. Kate picks up the phone, collapses backwards onto the bed.

"Hey."

"Bath went okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, It was fine. They both crashed after tea. I don't know what's made them so exhausted, but I'm glad for it. I'll take them to the park tomorrow. It's supposed to be nice."

"Ooh, you could get a big pile of leaves and jump in them! That's always fun. Leaf fights are so much better than snowball fights. Not as cold, and they don't hurt!"

"Sounds more like something to do when you're back."

"Okay. Plan. We'll take a picnic. Maybe Alexis and Jenson will come with Cappuccino."

"Family outing. Sounds nice. Maybe we could visit your mom after?"

He sighs, maybe a little sadly. "Yeah. Yeah, that'd be nice."

"Castle-"

"I'm fine, I am. It's just…"

"You don't like that place."

"It's not that. I don't like seeing her in that place. It dampens her spirit. You know her. She's supposed to be vibrant and full of life and outrageous and out there, and now…"

"I know, Castle. I do, I really do. But she had a stroke, and it's the best place for her to be. And she loves it when we visit. We should take her out on a day trip soon. Maybe to the theatre. She'd like that."

"Yeah, she would. Even if it's not the theatre, just… out. Somewhere."

"You work out when you have a couple of days free, and we'll sort it out. Okay? The kids love Gram. And she loves them. They always help bring her out of her shell."

"Very true. Okay. A couple of days with mother when I'm back. And a date in Central Park. I like it."

"Me too, Castle. Me too."

Kate reaches over and turns off the light, lies in the darkness content with listening to the sound of Castle and Latte's quiet snuffles.

"Are you half asleep?" She hums in agreement, there's not enough energy left in her to open her mouth. "Don't fall asleep on me, Kate."

"Sorry." She mumbles, turning over onto her side. Oh, comfy bed.

"Kaaaate."

"Caaastle."

He laughs. "Go to sleep. I'll speak to you tomorrow."

"Love you." She half murmurs, already half asleep.

"Love you too."

He surprises her a week later. She's asleep, dreaming of… oh, she can't remember, and it's nearly three in the morning and she's aware there's an arm around her waist and a soft breath against her neck. She turns, and the arm tightens draws her closer. And then she knows who it is. Can smell the familiar aftershave.

"Castle."

"Hey, it's okay. Go back to sleep."

She grunts against him, arches against him to press her lips against his, sacrificing the sleep she so desperately needs just to feel him against her. His hands run up her back, over her shoulder bones and curve over her shoulders, pulling her closer. She could so easily fall asleep here. Just, lying on him. "Missed you."

"I missed you too. But, I'm home now and I don't plan on going anywhere soon."

"Good."

"And I've checked on Mary and James. They're both out like a light. Mocha and Macchiato too. You've completely worn them out."

She smiles, laughs slightly against his neck. "Wore myself out too."

Castle drifts his fingers across her neck, tracing patterns and letters that he's not fully aware of, let's Kate's breath even out as she falls back asleep. Latte props her head on his hip and he uses his free hand to scratch her behind the ears, smiles at the way her head tilts to the side, her eyes closed. He sighs happily, closes his own eyes.

"Oh, it's good to be home."


End file.
